Category: Australian Legends

Saumarez Reef is beyond the outside edge of the Great Barrier Reef, 240 miles offshore. Gannet Cay is located in The Swain Reefs, the southern section of The Great Barrier Reef.

Ron Taylor Reef located in The Swain Reefs has been named in Ron’s memory and honor.

John H. Harding helped promote diving in Australia via work with the Taylor’s 1964 to 1968. John began making his first 16mm film in 1968. Simultaneously with a leading publisher began Fathommagazine. Made Australian Seafari (a 90 minute marine life documentary) as a traveling film show narrated live for many years before a sound-tracked version (inspired by his father John M. Harding, a cinema projectionist at Kings Theatre, Bega NSW pre 1953 and later a Sydney hotelier). Fathom magazine in color revealed to international divers, film makers and travel agents how advanced Queensland had become. With a world class publication and a new 79 foot live-aboard dive boat, Coralita the first with an on board air compressor. Now access to offshore crystal clear ocean water of The Coral Sea offering unparalleled shark filming activity was a must to experience.

Marine film shows promoted by John Harding and Ron and Valerie Taylor 1965 to late 1980s.

Wally Muller, Captain of the 36 foot fishing vessel Riversonghired by Gulf Oil (USA) to explore The Swain Reefs in 1965. The following year Wally Muller purchased Careelah a twenty year-old 60 foot charter boat used during The Belgian Expedition of 1967. In 1969 Wally and a partner built the 79 foot Coralitaat the Norman R. Wright shipyards in Brisbane, which became a world class live-aboard Commonwealth surveyed (to work anywhere in the world). TheCoral Sea became accessible for international dive trips for the first time. With Coralita Wally and his young sons Roy and Alexander explored most of The Coral Sea Reefs and accepted risky charters in New Guinea rivers and elsewhere. Mullers Reef in The Swain Reefs was named to honor this extraordinary pioneer skipper, fisherman and diver who explored most of The Coral Sea often collecting rare sea shells by diving for them at night.

Bob Grounds held professional abalone diving licenses in three Australian states, worked as a diver on international oil rigs, started and successfully ran a company to repair marine constructions and historic wharves underwater. Now builds restaurants and marinas in Australia.

Bob Grounds in 1968.

Ron Zangari lived a quiet life in Rockhampton, Queensland as a semi-professional diver after working on Riversong as an unpaid deckhand for many trips. Ran foul of the law by driving without a license more than a couple of times. Maintained a good sense of humor with naive mistakes. A gentleman to the end.

Ron Zangari with a Tiger shark became world famous through this picture by Ben Cropp, taken aboard Riversong in The Swain Reefs (1961)

CAIRNS was put on the international map by visiting fishermen. Before this the town was a sleepy port and the main tourists were Australians who made the long trek north on a narrow sealed road we called The Crystal Highway (littered with broken car windscreen, one every 2 Km).

The story how black marlin were found as they spawned along the edge of the continental shelf is best told by the experts.

The changes to the town of Cairns between 1972 and 1982 were enormous. Free or very cheap vacant land given by the state government allowed international hotel’s and a resort at Port Douglas to be fast-tracked.

Cairns is the major gateway to The Great Barrier Reef. Previously these had been further south Gladstone, especially.

Captain Peter Bristow initially set in motion what was soon to become The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority with the talent of Mrs. Valerie Taylor, based in Sydney, lobbying the media and politicians.

Peter Bristow enlisted the help of his friend Mrs Valerie Taylor to lobby for protection of a small section of reef near Lizard Island known as Cormorant Passage (commonly called The Cod Hole).

It was feared a population of large and tame Potato cod would be wiped out if not given urgent protection.

Others had similar concerns.

Valerie Taylor through her influence was able to get the media and political attention which set in motion the first gazetted protection for the Great Barrier Reef.

For her success Valerie was ‘Ordained a Knight in the Order of the Golden Ark’ by the Prince of the Netherlands, an award which sadly no longer exists for conservation.

The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark (Dutch: Orde van de Gouden Ark) is a Dutchorder of merit established in 1971 by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation.[2] Although not awarded by the government of the Netherlands, it is considered by the government as a recognized chivalrous order.[3] Since its inception, over 300 people have been recognised by the award. Now that Prince Bernhard has died, the future of the order is uncertain. (Wikipedia).

We’d just arrived at the small bunch of rocks off Point Lookout (North Stradbroke Island, Queensland) where the water is quite deep.

A visiting game fishing boat was hooked up with a small black marlin. The fish made a few jumps then the line broke.

Trevor Collins slipped over the side of our boat with a gas gun and secured the fish. From memory it weighed 78 pounds.

The reconstructed spear fishing scene was included in my first documentary \Aquarius – People and Wildlife of the Sea\ (1970).

It was meritorious as the first black marlin speared in Australia – under unusual circumstances which kept it out of the record book.

The game fishing boat’s name Mercury is visible on an enlarged version. This post was using dial-up, so pictures were kept small.

I asked Peter Bristow via email if he might know who owned the boat.

Peter is a former Point Lookout- based fisherman. From about 1970 he pioneered big game fishing in Australia at Cairns, North Queensland, and subsequently helped put that once northern sleepy town on the international tourist map of the world.

Here is Bristow’s reply from the island of Madeira where he now lives:

My God yes. The owner and driving the boat is Steve Murphy. He was a close friend of Bob Dyer. The guy on the rod is his son Rick and standing next to him is his son-in- law, Jack. They were all close friends of mine. Steve was chief engineer at Bulimba Brewery in Brisbane and a constant source of free beer!

From memory, that (incident) took place somewhere near Boat Rock off Point Lookout–Correct?

It would have been mid to late 60’s ???

The boat was built by Clem Masters at Cabbage Tree Creek, Shorncliffe, Brisbane. It originally had Mercury outboards; hence the name.

It was 30 feet long. He then replaced them with inboard-outboard drives.

I was a regular crew on it when I lived in Brisbane and even went to the launching. (Thanks for the memory).